Leading prostate cancer clinic opens at PA
 A flagship clinic for the
management of complex and
advanced prostate cancer
was launched at Princess
Alexandra Hospital this
month, coinciding with the
end of men’s health month
‘Movember’.
The multi-disciplinary clinic, which
is the first of its kind in Australia,
was officially launched on 1
December.
Executive Director of the Australian
Prostate Cancer Research Centre
- Queensland, Professor Colleen
Nelson, said the team model is
particularly needed in advanced
prostate cancer because new
therapies mean it is becoming more
of a chronic disease rather than
a
lethal disease.
“Long-term treatments are effective
but come at the price of side effects
including metabolic syndrome,
In a fitting display, the opening
event featured many of the
hospital’s familiar faces shaving off
a month’s worth of facial hair grown
for Movember, an international
moustage-growing event raising
money and awareness for prostate
cancer.
Hosted by the Queensland Prostate
Cancer Research Centre based
at PAH, the clinic will engage
specialists in urology, medical and
radiation oncology, endocrinology,
orthopaedics, palliative care,
insulin insensitivity, muscle
weakness and fatigue, bone loss
and skeletal fractures, cognitive impairment, and loss of sense of
well-being,” Prof Nelson said.
“Viewing prostate cancer as a
chronic disease is the key to
understanding the value of a
multidisciplinary clinic to treat
it. This has been done very
successfully in the past with other
diseases such coronary artery
disease.”
It is intended that the new clinic and the established clinical trials
unit will serve as a model in
Queensland for the advancement
of clinical management of prostate
cancer.
“We are establishing best practices
and adopting leading medical
and treatment advances for all
Queensland men suffering from the
disease,” Prof Nelson said.
“Telehealth will also significantly
influence the accessibility for rural
Queenslanders suffering from
prostate cancer to benefit from
the leading clinical trials being
conducted at Princess Alexandra
Hospital.”
Prostate cancer is one of the
country’s biggest killers, claiming
the lives of 3,000
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